Finally the day of the much anticipated and awaited event has materialised. This is Faber-Castell Malaysia first ever fine art exhibition in Malaysia and also the Asia Pacific region. All 35 fine art pieces were created exclusively from Faber-Castell’s “Art & Graphic” range by 12 selected contemporary artists based in Malaysia.
The planning of the exhibition took almost a year and all artists were given a period of 4 months to complete 3 pieces of artwork each last year. Once all work were completed and submitted, Faber-Castell Malaysia will then select the art work for the exhibition.
The exhibition was held from the 7th – 10th April at the Faber-Castell Kiosk in Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur and it continues on at the Artemis Art Gallery in Publika, Kuala Lumpur till the 1st May.
Initially, I was rather skeptical of an exhibition held in a public mall, the worries about the safety of my art work and whether people will take us seriously etc. BUT all these worries were unnecessary because the whole set up was very professionally done with superb lighting. I was truly blown away. Elias Project, the event coordinator and Artemis Art, the official gallery, did an amazing job. The whole set up looked as good as any prestigious art gallery.
As part of the exhibition, a series of unique pencil sculptures from Germany were brought in and displayed to commemorate the 111th Anniversary of the iconic Green Castell 9000 pencil. It was handcrafted using hundreds of Castell 9000 pencils and this work of art is currently making a tour across the Asia Pacific. Truly a sight to behold.
Even before the official launching of the exhibition at 3:00pm, the crowd started to gather and admiring the art works on display. We artists were briefed about the press and live video interviews and also to standby for many many photo sessions. The exhibition kicked off with a speech by the Managing Director of Faber-Castell Asia Pacific, Dr. Toh Yan Peng. And immediately after that began the series of photo sessions with all artists and VIPs by the press.
I have never in my life smiled so much and my face was almost numbed from grinning. The most nerve wrecking part was the video interview, I never liked to be photographed, what more doing live video shoots. Seriously, I could not remember what I have said throughout the shoot and I am very sure I will cringed if I see it.
Now, the most amazing part was to see all the artworks in person. Even as an artist myself, I was truly in awed by the talent of all the other artists. Everyone has their own unique style and visions. I can see that the crowd was extremely impressed too. I had a great time meeting up with old friends and also Facebook friends that I have not met in person. It was so nice and sweet of them to make time and attend the exhibition. I am truly touched by their gestures and I received a box of chocolates too. how sweet is that!
The exhibition was a tremendous success. Faber-Castell Malaysia had, in a way, given a platform to all the artists involved and we are extremely thankful. This is the first ever fine art exhibition organised by a leading global company in Malaysia and we 12 artists are truly fortunate to be the pioneers of this event. Hoping there will be more to come in the near future and more local artists will be given the opportunity to experience such event.
I also hope that this will be a precedent to other Faber-Castell companies in other parts of the world and if it happens, the art world will definitely be seeing more coloured pencil fine art in the near future (I am being biased here but hey, I AM a colour pencil artist, aren’t I?)
